My father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's earlier this year, and through our journey, we've found it challenging to find good dietary resources and support. I'm working on building an online resource to help others facing similar challenges.
I'd really value hearing about your experiences:
1. What's been the most challenging part of making dietary changes? (Like finding recipes, grocery shopping, meal planning, etc.)
2. For those following specialized diets (like ketogenic/Mediterranean/etc.), what are your biggest daily struggles in trying to stick with it? Which diet are you trying to adhere to?
I want to ensure whatever I build actually addresses the real problems we all face in this journey. Your experiences would be incredibly helpful in shaping this resource to be truly useful for our community.
Thank you for any insights you're willing to share
To the OP, I think once Alzheimer's is on the scene, and esp. early, the diet is the absolute LEAST of ANY of it.
Since my hip replacement, I’ve been juicing most of the time. It is a lot better than eating candy or ice cream or even ensure as I add my own protein and vitamins.
My questions have more to do with the difficulty of switching to this or any other food regiment that one may choose to go on during this time.
I would say that there is "research to prove" just about anything and everything. There is no solid evidence that any diet can help. There is beginning to be some evidence that the anti-cholesterol meds can help in PREVENTION, but prevention is always a sticky wicket to prove, because you can't really prove a negative easily. That might indicate that, if cholesterol is indicated in dementia, that "fats" are. Our intake of fats as a nation is just astounding. And is changing even the age at onset of puberty, and in all probability the early onset now of breast cancers and colon cancers.
Who can know if diet will or won't help your dad, but he should certainly be allowed now to follow ANY diet he pleases. Or anything else he wishes to try. It is unlikely to hurt any outcome, so there's no reason not to do it.
BUT...
When he makes the decision to eat something that is not on "his diet" please do not argue with him that he is not supposed to eat that.
IF a keto diet or any other diet has been shown to have any effect on delaying loss of cognition due to any dementia I am sure it is short term. Just like many of the medications that are currently available.
What I would encourage is that you talk to his doctor and see if there are any Clinical Trials that just might help. That along with his chosen keto diet just might delay decline even longer.
My Husband was in a Clinical Trial (this was YEARS ago and to this day I do believe that he was able to do some things a LOT longer than he would have if he were not on the trial. ...and I am 99.99% he was on the clinical drug and not the placebo)
With any dementia I am all for trying what you think might work. But I am also VERY skeptical of any thing or anyone that says that "X" is a cure. Even if there is a medication that is PROVEN to stop the dementia any damage that has been done is not going to be reversed so while there may not be a decline there will not be a marked improvement.
the fact that your dad is engaged in trying to improve his health and he is not depressed about his diagnosis and he is willing to try something is great. It also means that he is in a place where you can discuss with him some other important things like:
He needs to appoint someone POA for health and financial decisions.
He needs to discuss what he wants as far as his end of life health decisions.
Make funeral arrangements.
Make sure all his "legal ducks are in a row"
And if there is anything that he wanted to do, places he wanted to go, people he wants to see NOW is the time to do it.
And YOU need to prepare.
Prepare for the worst case scenario
Be grateful for the time you have with him.
Decide what you can do for him, what you can't do for him, what you won't do for him.
Decide now that if it becomes an issue of safety that you might have to place him in Memory Care. This decision is not easy but has to be made if you can not safely care for him. It means that his care needs exceed what you can manage.
Oh, if dad is a Veteran the VA may have programs that can help. Please contact your local Veterans Assistance Commission or your States Department of Veterans Affairs.